As one of our newest assistant professors, Dr. Dayoung Kim is eager to continue the work she started during her Ph.D. study: how to help engineers be better prepared for potential ethical challenges in their workplaces.

During her tenure as a Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM Fellowships and Grants) she broadened her research interests while exploring the ethics and social responsibility in engineering practice.

Kim recently defended her dissertation, “Professional Socialization of Engineers: Moral Formation and Organizational Culture.” Her committee included Drs. Brent K Jesiek , Louis TayRuth Streveler and Michael Loui (co-advisor).

Get to know Dayoung in our top 5 getting to know you Qs:

Why Virginia Tech? What do you love about VT?

Virginia Tech has great engineering programs with passionate students and faculty members. I think it’s my honor to be able to contribute to VT.  

What’s your favorite thing about being a professor/faculty?

My favorite thing about being a professor/faculty is being able to continuously grow together with students who I teach and mentor. I believe in each student’s potential, and it’s truly a joy to be able to interact with students and help them create their own career pathways. 

What does your research entail? What do you hope will come of it?

I am broadly interested in topics related to engineering practice, such as the work of engineers across various employment sectors (e.g., industry, government). During my Ph.D. study, I focused on ethics and social responsibility in engineering practice to think of how to help engineers be better prepared for potential ethical challenges in their workplaces.

The topics that I plan to further explore include, but are not limited to, 1) the interactions between organizational culture and engineers’ moral formation, and 2) the interactions between regulations/policies and engineering practice. The results of my research on engineering practice will contribute to enhancing engineering education which aims for supporting the innovative and ethical practice of engineering professionals. 

What originally got you interested in your work and/or research?

I chose to delve into the topics like ethics and social responsibility in engineering for my doctoral study because I was very interested in the societal impact of engineering practice. I had become interested in it while participating in an interdisciplinary debate society during my undergraduate study. Throughout my doctoral study, I have participated in various research projects and developed my interests. My experience at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM Fellowships and Grants) as a Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow also helped me broaden my horizon and expand my research interest. 

What advice do you have for graduate students looks to join the engineering education field?

Engineering education is an emerging field with growing opportunities and endless possibilities. You will be able to test your idea as a researcher and educator and pave your own pathway.